Water times Ice
by Wacky Walnut
Summary: Mannen's dealing with his feelings for his water companion. Shonenshounen, MannenXHajime. Possible one shot


Water times Ice  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own Prétear or the characters and never will do – shame really but yeah.  
  
Warnings: shounen – my first go at it so give me a little break  
  
Spoilers: None – unless you've not seen esp. 1-7 and it's set before all of them so meh. AU and technically a prequel before Takako (sp?) and all of that and Mannen and Hajime are about 17/18 in this as well  
  
Pairing: Mannen Hajime  
  
POV Mannen  
  
A sigh escaped from my lips as I starred down at the pool of water that was in front of me. It was an unusual feeling that was growing in my heart and even though I tried to deny it I knew what wanted to break free...but how could I even consider telling him?  
  
He was my friend, had always been and always would be but if I told him this...how would he react? Would he reject me? Would he believe it was a very sick joke I was playing on him? Why was I even questioning myself with these questions?  
  
Fed up with getting no answers I flopped back and starred helplessly at the pale blue sky, winter was slowly coming through and earth's temperature falling. Usually a sign that cheered me up a great deal but at this moment I could understand why many people didn't like winter. It was a very cold time to be alone and that coldness was even worse that I had expected it to be.  
  
In some way I was finding it hard to admit to myself that I could tell him – it certainly was something different and not exactly easy to bring up in a conversation but I knew that I had to tell him before anything happened and in secret the thought of losing him was more than I could bear.  
  
A group of children ran by. They were of mixed genders, ages and heights but nothing seemed to bother them. They ran in crazy circles – playing something akin to 'Cops and Robbers' by the sound of things and throwing leaves continually at one another. A faint smile crossed my lips as I recalled when me, Hajime, Shin and Go used to play such games.  
  
Closing my eyes, I imagined the scene. All four of us were in a park similar to this one, just running around...not a care in the world...  
  
Flashback  
  
"Hey, got you Manned" screamed Hajime as he dove down onto his slightly smaller friend and tackled him to the ground.  
  
"No fair! You cheated!" yelled Mannen in a fake annoyed voice before pushing Hajime off him and pouncing on the slightly older boy. Hajime just laughed and rolled over, attempting to avoid hurting himself of Mannen.  
  
"You two! You're on the same side! You're supposed to work as a team not try to kill each other" came Shin's calm and wiser voice. Mannen glared at Shin, followed closely by Hajime in the same movement. "Oh no you don't!" said Shin realising all to late that he had just sentenced himself to a double attack.  
  
"Come here you!" yelled Mannen playfully as he leaped at Shin, catching him around the middle and causing him to fall heavily to the ground. "Mannen! Get off me you heavy lump!" said Shin as he head wrestled with the younger Knight of Ice.  
  
"No! You a criminal so you got to be punished!" came Hajime's voice before he also leaped at Shin and started to tickle him. Shin laughed until he could laugh no more and finally managed to get himself standing. He tightly gripped the younger knights by the back of their shirts and gently shook his head, causing his long golden brown hair falling over his eyes.  
  
"Damn it, you two! Honestly! You're a pair of trouble makers" Shin said, trying to keep a hold of the two struggling boys, save his feet from being stamped on and remove his hair from his eyes. This was not going to look good and if Hayate or Kei saw this...speak of the devils themselves.  
  
"Shin what are doing?" came Kei's quiet voice. Shin cringed and allowed his concentration to slip for a few seconds, giving adequate time for the two troublemakers to kick out and catch him on the back of the knees. With a cry of protest, Shin fell backwards and released his hold.  
  
Instantly the two boys were off, shouting inaudibly back at Shin. "Next time I'll drop you both in the pond and you can see how you like it!" called Shin as he pulled himself up. A faint chuckle came from behind him and Shin turned to Hayate and Kei, "They're trouble makers" was all he said as he tried to pull his hair back into it's original pony-tail.  
  
"Of course they are, you wouldn't really expect anything different from those two" said Hayate, "No matter how many years are between them they'll always be together".  
  
"I know, but they deliberately try to cause trouble. I swear they do it to drive me crazy" said Shin, looking around to see the pair of them grab the four-year-old Go off the swings and head for the pond.  
  
"Leave them be Shin, they're no different from what you were like" said Kei, turning and heading away – not really wanting to be around when Go came running up, screaming his head off.  
  
"Oh no you don't, Kei" said Shin, grabbing hold of Kei's golden top, "If I have to put up with these three for another minuet then I will do something to them. Since school's finished I suggest that you stay and watch them for a couple of hours while I go to work".  
  
Before Kei could protest, Shin was gone, "Oh great...Hayate, you couldn't possibly..." he didn't finish that sentence. Hayate was already halfway across the grass, heading away as fast as he could.  
  
"Hey, Kei, heads up!" came a voice from behind him. Kei didn't have time to turn around, nor did he have time to duck. The water was freezing cold, "HAJIME!!" he yelled and charged at the group.  
  
End Flashback  
  
I chuckled fondly at that memory, I don't think Kei or Shin had ever really forgiven us for that but I wasn't really surprised. "What are you laughing about?" asked a voice from behind me.  
  
Startled I turned around and starred silently at Hajime for a few seconds, feeling my heart tug out towards him, "Just an old recollection of when we soaked Kei, that's all" it was the truth at least but I felt suddenly very shy and nervous.  
  
A half-chuckle came from Hajime and he settled down next to me on the bench, "Shin was right...we were trouble makers" he said.  
  
I glanced at him, his orange hair in it's accustomed style of two long fringe sections and shortish back and sides. He had only recently had it cut and it was still a bit strange seeing him like this but I didn't want to worry about such things. He was beautiful no matter how he changed and I desired for him to be mine.  
  
"Manned, what's wrong? You've been awful quiet of late" he asked, turning his deep sea blue eyes into my pale icy blue ones. I knew I should tell him – knew that this was the exact time – right here, right now...no one to disturb us. But could I find the words to express my inner and hidden feelings? Could I hell.  
  
"It...it's...difficult to...explain" I finally managed to stumble out, feeling very out of place in this situation and kind of praying that one of the others would show up. "Why? Girl troubles?" he asked, slightly tilting his head and grinning mischievously.  
  
"What?! Hajime!" I scolded, much to his amusement. I looked down at the ground, listening to his gentle laugh, "Come on, you can tell me. I bet it's that pretty one who always where's purple that caught you in her little web and now you don't know whether or not to go in or not" he joked on.  
  
"Hajime, it's nothing like that" I said quietly looking at my clasped hands. That stopped him laughing, his eyes were searching my figure for an answer, "She rejected you?".  
  
I failed to get my words out correctly...what was this guy thinking!?! No one had rejected me, I hadn't even asked the person I was going to ask to find out if they would reject me! "Why would anyone reject you? You're charming, sophisticated and handsome..." he caught his breath that statement and I turned to look at him. His body had tensed up and his eyes flashed with fear and horror at what he had just said. "Hajime?" I asked quietly, feeling my heart flutter with hope.  
  
"I didn't mean to say that...I'll go" he said hastily, and rose to leave. "No, wait!" I caught his hand and held it firmly. Time seemed to stand still for an eternity and a dove took flight from the still grass. "Hajime" I whispered softly, not understanding his reaction.  
  
Slowly his shoulders sagged, I was almost willing him to say something – anything to break this tension between us...could he have...feelings for...me?  
  
"Mannen" his voice broke me out of my trance and I looked slowly up at the back of his head, "I...I..."  
  
He didn't need to say the words, I knew in my heart what he would have said but I didn't want to hear it. Without thinking of what I was doing, I rose and pulled his body closer to mine, embracing him deeply. "I too" came a shadow of a whisper from his shoulder.  
  
It took some time to register that it was actually my voice that had said those words, finally after all of these years I had said the words that longed to be spoken. The words that had hidden themselves so deeply within my heart that for a while I had believed that there was no love in me at all.  
  
I felt him turn around and wrap his arms around my shoulders, holding me tight against his skin. "I should have told you a long time ago..." I knew the voice belonged to Hajime but it sounded like it was coming from behind me rather than right next to my ear.  
  
His breath was warm and he started to slightly pull away but I didn't want him to...for some reason I wanted to remain like this. Gently I brushed my nose against his cheek, enjoying the feeling of softness it gave me. I'm not quite sure who made the first move but before I knew it both of our lips were pressing together – unsurely I'll admit but with a warmth and compassion behind them that was finally being allowed to be set free.  
  
I pulled gently away and remained in his arms for quite some time, just content to be there – alone with my love and the warmth he gave me through the coldness of ice.  
  
Had we both been watching, we would have seen Shin slowly fade into the trees and disappear with a faint smile on his lips. But at that point – nothing else in the world mattered...there was just Hajime and me. Water times Ice – forever.  
  
End  
  
A.N Flashback ages: Manned 8/9, Hajime 9/10, Go 4 (as stated), Shin 17, Kei 14/15 and Hayate 14/15 – no idea where Sasame is, probably recording his radio show. shrugs A bit different I'll admit but please do read and review as I feel inclined to write more Shounen/shonen or however you spell it in the future and I need to know where I went wrong or right.  
  
Hoped you all enjoyed it (and please review)  
  
Domo Arigato Sayonara 


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